Vector multiplication

Article summary

In mathematics, vector multiplication may refer to one of several operations between two (or more) vectors. It may concern any of the following articles: * Dot product – also known as the "scalar product", a binary operation that takes two vectors and returns a scalar quantity. The dot product of two vectors can be defined as the product of the magnitudes of the two vectors and the cosine of the angle between the two vectors. Alternatively, it is defined as the product of the projection of the first vector onto the second vector and the magnitude of the second vector. Thus, \mathbf{a} \cdot \mathbf{b} = |\mathbf{a}| \, |\mathbf{b}| \cos \theta * Cross product – also known as the "vector product", a binary operation on two vectors that results in another vector. The cross product of two vectors in 3-space is defined as the vector perpendicular to the plane determined by the two vectors whose magnitude is the product of the magnitudes of the two vectors and the sine of the angle between the two vectors. So, if \mathbf{\hat{n}} is the unit vector perpendicular to the plane determined by vectors \mathbf{a} and \mathbf{b} , \mathbf{a} \times \mathbf{b} = |\mathbf{a}| \, |\mathbf{b}| \sin \theta \, \mathbf{\hat{n}}. * Exterior product or wedge product – a binary operation on two vectors that results in a bivector.…

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